For Want of a Cure
by Meimi no Kage
Summary: The Black Organization has made its move, now all that's left is the aftermath.
1. After: Friends

**For Want of a Cure  
><strong>_**by Meimi**_

For Want of a Cure is a collection of snippets detailing the aftermath of the Black Organization's final strike along with the event itself. The snippets are deliberately written out of order to give a brief window into the overarching plot. They are puzzle pieces that will eventually come together to paint the entire picture.

Characters(s)/Pairing(s): Canon for the most part. I am rather fond of random pairings though, so the chance of me writing AU omake every now and then is quite high.  
><span>Disclaimer<span>: I am in no way associated with Aoyama Gosho or anyone who hold rights to Detective Conan or Magic Kaito. It isn't mine, I'm just playing with it.

* * *

><p><strong>After: Friends<strong>

Sonoko tapped her foot against the bottom of the staircase and wondered who exactly had been over to clean. There wasn't a speck of dust anywhere that she could see, so somebody _had_ to have cleaned it up. The Kudos might've hired someone to do it, but she kinda doubted that. They hadn't even been back yet since... everything. Then again, from what she could remember that wasn't too big of a surprise. Shinichi had always brushed off questions about them, but she'd sat through enough of Ran's rants about their behavior to piece together enough. His parents were completely out to lunch, it was probably safer for everyone's sanity if they stayed away. Not that it mattered. She didn't care about the Kudos, not any of them. She was just here because Ran needed moral support. That's all there was to it.

The yelling was starting to get into the upper levels, so hopefully Ran would reach her eruption point, then those two could do the whole kiss and make up scene so she could leave. Moral support for her best friend it may be, but Sonoko really wasn't interested in the particulars of this lover's spat. She didn't want to know. It wasn't her problem. She certainly hadn't been worried about the idiot, and the little twinges in her stomach had nothing to do with disappointment or betrayal. He wasn't _her_ friend. They were just acquaintances through Ran. That's all.

_Maybe_ she'd had a soft spot for Conan, but since he'd been Shinichi all along, it didn't really matter. He'd been cute - adorable even -, but that was it. He'd also been a seriously annoying little brat - which wasn't too surprising all things considered. Shinichi had always been annoying. He was always getting into trouble, always running off to do something stupid and dangerous with the police, never sticking around long enough to even finish a simple conversation. Of course, his social skills consisted of prattling on and on about Sherlock Holmes novels so it wasn't a great loss, but still. And he'd kept on doing all that crap after getting turned into a brat! Wow, now that she really thought about it, she had no idea what to think of the police at this point. _They_ hadn't known that Conan was Shinichi, so why had they even started letting him run around crime scenes to begin with? Ran's father was no excuse. In fact, his presence should've made them that much more careful. What the heck had they been doing this entire time? What had _any_ of them been doing?

_It shouldn't have turned out this way._ Sonoko sighed and leaned back against the banister. The husband and wife were supposed to get married, then they'd have lots of kids for her to spoil rotten. The happy little family. And maybe along the way she'd find some guy that would live up to her exacting standards. Sure, no one, but no one, could be as suave and dashingly romantic as Kaitou Kid, but that was no reason for them to not try. The men of the world just needed to work harder at being tolerable for people like her.

Sonoko flinched as the sound of a slap reverberated through the sudden silence. _Oh crap._ The door to the library flew open a moment later as Ran stormed out in a rage. _Oh no no, Ran, you are not doing this. You're supposed to chew him out, maybe give him a little of the cold shoulder, and then get over it._ "Ran, what are you-"

"I've had enough of this. I'm leaving," Ran snarled as she stalked into the entryway, kicked the house slippers off and stomped into her regular shoes. "I'll see you later."

Sonoko flinched again as Ran slammed the front door shut behind her. She was almost certain she'd heard the hinges rattle at the force of it. _Damnit_. Letting her shoulders droop in an unsuccessful attempt to relieve her mounting tension, Sonoko let out of a heavy breath of irritation. She couldn't let those two do anything on their own without them screwing it up. Why did they always have to make everything so difficult? Shopping, that what she wanted to be doing right now. Instead she was stuck in this giant mausoleum of a house with _him_. And thanks to Ran's explosion, she was going to have to go check on him. She _was_. Just up and leaving was out of the question. Maybe she might've done it before, but that was then, this was now. She couldn't just blithely ignore things anymore. It wouldn't be right.

Grumbling under her breath at stupid friends and their stupid boyfriends, Sonoko pushed off from the banister and made her way over to the library. The door was still ajar, so she didn't have to bother about knocking or anything - not that she ever had with these two, it was fun to catch them in compromising positions. Peeking in, she sighed at what she saw. He was just standing there with one hand to his cheek, not looking at anything. Why was he so well versed at looking pathetic? He didn't have a right to it. He was Shinichi. Shinichi didn't _do_ pathetic. Just because he was stuck in the body of a kid didn't change that fact one iota.

_Damnit Ran, what were you thinking? Just because he's that moron stuffed into kid form doesn't mean you can hit him like that when you're angry._ Shaking her head at the absurdity of the entire situation, Sonoko swiftly stalked into the room.

Shinichi looked up, his eyes widening in surprise at her unexpected appearance. "Sonoko, what-" He didn't have time for anything else as she yanked his hand down and tilted his head to the side so she could get a better look at Ran's parting gift.

Sonoko winced as she surveyed the damage. Ran had really given him what for. There was no way that wasn't going to bruise to hell and back. As if he needed more injuries. Honestly, what was Ran _thinking_? He didn't need another beating ontop of the one those _people_ had given him. Grimacing at the memory, Sonoko let her gaze wander down to his shoulder. He'd been _bleeding_ so much on that day... such a horrible day. "She didn't get you anywhere else, did she?" Stupid Ran. Stupid Shinichi. Stupid everything.

"No! No, of course not," he answered quickly. Too quickly as far as she was concerned. He was such a little liar. How could she even trust him to admit to having further injuries somewhere else? He never had before. _Idiot._

"All right," Sonoko said doubtfully as she straightened back up and raked him with a calculating look. "Conan" had always appeared way too tiny for his own good, and knowing that he was Shinichi didn't make that any better. He looked like something the dog had taken great pleasure in mangling before dragging in. The bruising down his right arm had faded some, but it was still very purple in several places, and the yellow on the rest of it just highlighted how pale he'd gotten. The cast on his left wrist was devoid of markings, which was odd. Hadn't the other kids been over to pester the crap out of him yet? He was wearing pants - for once -, which was just as well. She didn't really want to see the rest of the bruising - and burns - she _knew_ would be down there. He never did anything halfway, did he? Overachieving twit. "Well, put some ice on it and _eat_ something. You look like a stiff breeze will bowl you over."

"Don't worry about it," Shinichi said casually, too casually in her mind. "I'll be fine."

"Of course you are. You always are," Sonoko shot back breezily. "You're just never okay." Turning around so she didn't have to witness the shocked stare he was giving her, Sonoko put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot in irritation. Cheering him up was not her job. It had _never_ been her job and she sure didn't want it. But there was nobody else here. So... "Don't worry about Ran. She'll get over it. You just focus on getting better. And stop tripping over dead people while you're at it. You've far surpassed _every_one's quota in that regard."

"Sonoko..."

He sounded tired. Really tired. He wasn't supposed to sound like that, or look like that. He was supposed to be her best friend's arrogant, annoying jerk of a husband, not some kid who got fed shrinking poison by insane whack jobs who tortured and blew up people for fun. She didn't like this at all. Frankly, she _hated_ it. And stupid Ran shouldn't have left her here to pick up the damn pieces! Just... "Take care of yourself, okay? It's important that you stay safe and get better... _okay?_" She wasn't going to cry, especially not over him of all people. It was just allergies. That's all. Just because she couldn't see a lick of dust didn't mean there wasn't any.

There was a long silence, and Sonoko was starting to wonder what else she could possibly say to make it better when he finally spoke up. "I'll try. Thanks, Sonoko."

Good. That was good. He sounded a little less gloomy at least. "No problem. Somebody has to watch out for idiots like you." It would all turn out okay, one way or another. She'd just have to take up the slack until Ran's temper ran its course. He did kind of deserve it, after all, just... not like that. Honestly, what was she going to do with the two of them?


	2. Before: Hanging By a Thread

**For Want of a Cure  
><strong>_**by Meimi**_

For Want of a Cure is a collection of snippets detailing the aftermath of the Black Organization's final strike along with the event itself. The snippets are deliberately written out of order to give a brief window into the overarching plot. They are puzzle pieces that will eventually come together to paint the entire picture.

Characters(s)/Pairing(s): Canon for the most part. I am rather fond of random pairings though, so the chance of me writing AU omake every now and then is quite high.  
><span>Disclaimer<span>: I am in no way associated with Aoyama Gosho or anyone who hold rights to Detective Conan or Magic Kaito. It isn't mine, I'm just playing with it.

* * *

><p><strong>Before: Hanging By a Thread<strong>

This was not normal. Granted, anything having to do with the Kaitou Kid would never be normal, but this was worse than usual. He'd known the heist note was a fake. Everything about it had been spot on. _Everything_. And yet every single nerve in his entire body had started flashing the **DANGER** sign the first time he'd read it. This wasn't Kid. He knew it wasn't, but he still had to act like it was. The orders had been given, the Task Force assembled, the usual hoopla with both the brass and the press had been dealt with; and now here he was, hanging upside down from the ceiling - along with the rest of his Task Force and that brat Hakuba -, wondering who the hell Kid had pissed off this time. And ontop - HA HA - of all of that, there'd been zero sightings of the real Kid.

The thief was _late_. Very late.

He was not worried. Nakamori Ginzo did not worry about that aggravating twit of a criminal. Not ever. So where the hell was he? He always showed up to give hell to anyone who dared to try and steal his limelight. He was an infuriatingly punctual bastard too. What the hell could possibly hold him up? Nothing had managed to impede him before. This was... "This is completely stupid," Nakamori growled out. "We are not going to be able to do anything while we're hanging from the ceiling; and waiting for _Kid_ to show up and get us down is ridiculous. Anyone have any ideas yet?"

"I've got one arm free, sir. I could try bending up and cutting myself loose."

"Don't bother," Hakuba said blandly, "This webbing is military issue. It'll take a lot more than a knife to cut through it."

_Military?_ Nakamori twisted his head to the left and gave the detective a long hard look. Hakuba gravely returned the look for several seconds, then closed his eyes and shook his head. He didn't know what was going on, but it was not looking good to him either. _Shit!_ What the hell had Kid gotten into this time? The thief wasn't fool enough to get involved with the type of people who could get their paws on military grade crap. But that didn't mean he couldn't piss them off, something he was quite good at. They had to get down - **now** - before something else-

His thoughts stalled out as Nakamori caught the sight of motion out of the corner of his eye. One of the side doors on the bottom floor was slowly being pushed open. Well, finally someone was showing up. Now who could- A familiar shock of messy brown hair cautiously peeked out of the door and suddenly Nakamori didn't know what to think anymore. What was he doing here? "Kaito-kun!"

The boy craned his head back, surveying all of the trussed up Task Force members with a critical eye before pushing his way into the room. Nakamori sucked in a sharp breath even as Hakuba's shocked voice rang out. "Kuroba! What the hell happened to you?" The kid looked like hell. The clothes on his left side were torn, mangled and charred. His face was half smeared with what looked like blood and ash and he was _limping_. That was disturbing. Even when he'd managed to break a leg as a little kid he'd somehow managed to walk around as smoothly as anybody else. Hadn't slowed him down any either. What in the world could have happened?

Kaito flashed a grin as he reached down and dug something out of his pants pocket. "Bomb," he explained simply as he flipped his phone open and answered whoever was on the other end. "Hi there. How are you?"

Nakamori stared down at the boy he'd watched grow up with Aoko and felt the world bottom out underneath him. What the hell could _Kaito_ of all people get into that would result in a bombing? The only trouble the brat got into was with his teachers and _him_ for his stupid - but harmless - pranks. The most dangerous thing he'd ever done was flip Aoko's skirt in his presence, and that had been awhile back.

"What am I doing?" Kaito chirped cheerfully, it sounded fake and horrible and Nakamori just wanted to shake the boy for pretending - badly - to be all right. "Well, right now I'm looking up at the Kaitou Kid Task Force who are strung up along the ceiling like Christmas decorations." Who the hell was he talking to?

"There's one at each site?" Wait a minute. He sounded worried now. "Of course there is. Good to know, let's see if I can find it." Kaito shifted, a somber frown on his face as he glanced around. "Can any of you see anything up there? Anything that looks out of place." Nakamori continued to stare down at the boy, his guts twisting up at Kaito's extremely abnormal behavior. What the hell was going on here?

"What are we looking for?" Hakuba asked sharply in the charged silence that followed. At least the self-proclaimed detective was keeping it together, because Nakamori sure as hell didn't know how to deal with the neighbor's kid looking and acting like that. What the hell was he doing here? Why wasn't he at the hospital? He certainly needed one if his appearance was anything to go by. Sure, he could've probably whipped up a disguise that looked as realistic as that, but he wasn't enough of a jerk to play a prank like that on anybody. He really needed to see a doctor. Mind instantly made up, Nakamori opened his mouth to yell at the kid to call an ambulance already and get his butt out of there. Unfortunately, Kaito's next words stole the breath out of him.

"Anything that looks like it might blow up."

A bomb. _God_damnit.

"Second floor balcony, there's a brown package next to one of the potted plants," Hakuba said solemnly after doing a quick search of the room from above. "What's going on, Kuroba?"

"Ah, it seems certain people have decided to cut their losses," Kaito replied airily as walked over and then carefully made his way up the stairs. "Nothing to worry about." His voice trailed off as he kneeled down next to the package, nodding after a moment at what he saw.

Hakuba narrowed his eyes. "Wait for the bomb squad, you fool."

"I would if I could," Kaito shook his head, shouldering his phone as he reached down and fiddled with something they couldn't see. "But I'm afraid there's no one else. They're all busy trying to keep Beika from getting wiped off the face of the map. We can't wait for them." Bending his head down further to the phone, he whispered almost inaudibly, "What do I do?"

"What the _hell_, Kuroba?"

"Like I told you, they're cutting their losses. These type of people, they... arrange accidents... along with other nasty sorts of things. We're just loose ends, really, but they don't want to leave anything to chance." Kaito shrugged as he did _sometbing_ to the package. "Don't worry, I have help. He knows what he's doing. I'm just following along."

Nakamori just hung there, silently watching as the boy worked on saving all of their lives. He'd never been the quiet type - didn't have much use for that sort of thing - but at this very moment he had no idea what to say. Accidents, huh? That made a sick sort of sense. He'd always wondered, but the official investigation had said otherwise. The findings had been conclusive, and he always endeavored to trust in his fellow officers to be honest - it wasn't easy. Still, he'd known something was... off. He'd just never pursued it, never had the time - never _made_ the time. Maybe he should have, because apparently his lack - along with everyone else's - had fallen onto the son's shoulders without him even realizing it. Why hadn't he noticed? _Damnit_. Kids were supposed to be kids. They weren't supposed to get involved in bullshit that had _bombs_ attached to it.

And where the hell _was_ Kid? He'd rather have that psychotic moron bailing them out and Kaito's ass hauled down to the hospital than _this_. Anything but this.


	3. After: Idle Threats

**For Want of a Cure  
><strong>_**by Meimi**_

For Want of a Cure is a collection of snippets detailing the aftermath of the Black Organization's final strike along with the event itself. The snippets are deliberately written out of order to give a brief window into the overarching plot. They are puzzle pieces that will eventually come together to paint the entire picture.

Characters(s)/Pairing(s): Canon for the most part. I am rather fond of random pairings though, so the chance of me writing AU omake every now and then is quite high.  
><span>Disclaimer<span>: I am in no way associated with Aoyama Gosho or anyone who hold rights to Detective Conan or Magic Kaito. It isn't mine, I'm just playing with it.

* * *

><p><strong>After: Idle Threats<strong>

"I'm back."

"Welcome home."

Shinichi looked up as the familiar greetings wafted their way into the library from the hallway. Surely he wasn't back already. But no, a cursory glance at the shadows stretching out from the windows confirmed the late hour. Hmm, he'd spent the entire afternoon reading again; not that he really regretted the lost hours. It was nice to have a quiet, peaceful day to spend on something as simple as reading a good book. Before everything that had happened, there hadn't been enough time for something as intangible as peace. And even after all the chaos it had been hard to find the time to even catch his breath, much less do anything he considered relaxing. These sort of days were starting to become more common of late though; and he couldn't say he disliked that change in present circumstances.

Still, he did have a few things left to take care of today. Best to get to it. Nodding slightly at his own thoughts, Shinichi fished a bookmark out of the desk, marked his place and set his book off to the side. He'd get back to it later, for now he had a very important phone call to make. The Japanese police force, the FBI, the CIA, and various other branches of international law enforcement: they were all very attentive to him these days. _Of course_, they were. They had been late, far too late, and they _knew_ it. They'd been _late_ at catching on to the Black Organization's final plans. They'd been late in trying to minimize the damage. And once again, he and the others had been left to their own devices in trying to keep themselves alive and their city from getting blown sky high. He was just a bit bitter about it. The bitterness was well earned though, both on his part and _theirs_. They'd been ever so horrified and shocked and dismayed when the whole truth had finally been laid out on the table. It was their feelings of guilt, however, that he found the most useful.

His stint as Conan had left him quite adept at manipulating adults to get what he wanted. How else was he supposed to get them to cooperate in his investigations? They sure as hell hadn't liked it when some little pipsqueak of a brat had started explaining what should've be blindingly obvious to them. Oh no, children should be seen and not heard. Well okay, he wasn't being completely fair. The vast majority of Inspector Megure's division had quickly learned to just go with the flow and ignore just how jarringly weird it was to have a child crawling all over their crime scenes. After all, when he was there they _always_ captured the _right_ suspect. Whether they'd viewed him as a good luck charm or Mouri's precocious little detective in training, it hadn't really mattered to him in the long run. He'd been able to work around them without having to constantly watch over his shoulder for well-meaning idiocy, and that had been more than enough for him to give them a pass.

Everyone else, on the other hand, was fair game.

Grinning sharply to himself, Shinichi hopped off the chair and padded his way across the room to shut the door. He didn't really keep secrets from his "houseguests", but he didn't want to get interrupted during this particular phone call. Of course, that wouldn't stop _him_ from coming in if he felt like it, but the closed door would at least indicate that something of importance was going on. They were all good at reading signs like that.

She'd already be at work - he'd waited a little bit too long to catch her beforehand -, but Jodie Starling always answered calls from him. Even before finding out about his true circumstances, she'd always paid close attention to what he had to say. It had been nice to be respected by someone who mattered _who didn't know_. That respect had grown into something a bit more comfortable after... everything, and he'd say they were almost friends by this point. Almost. He still had too much trouble with trust to quite place her in the same category as the people who _had_ known, but it was something. There was one issue, however, that was a bit of a sticking point with them. And it was time for him to raise it again.

"Hi there, Cool Kid!"

Did she _have_ to keep calling him that? Shinichi sighed inaudibly. "Good morning, Jodie-san."

"How are you doing? Everything okay?"

"Everything's going just fine. There hasn't been much work lately, but I think I prefer it that way, if you catch my drift." Shinichi smirked sardonically as he hopped back up into the chair he'd vacated a short while ago. He'd be perfectly happy if he _never_ had to investigate another murder case. Unfortunately, he knew better. Human nature being what it was, some things just never changed. "The doctors will be taking off the second cast in a few days. It'll be nice to have my arm back."

"Wow, I bet you're really happy about that. You've had it on for so long."

"Couldn't be helped. The bones were almost crushed. Lucky I didn't have to wear it longer," Shinichi groused as he glared down at the offending object. He didn't even deign to acknowledge all the crap scrawled all over it. The first one had remained blissfully clean for the entire time it had been on. Not that he'd really been able to appreciate it at the time. The second one, unfortunately, had only lasted two weeks - _two weeks!_ -, and then one day that idiot had decided he wasn't breakable anymore and had gone seriously overboard with the markers. After that, _everyone_ had to have a go at it.

"I suppose so."

Ah, excellent. She didn't sound as cheerful now. To be honest, he didn't really _want_ to ruin her mood by talking about stuff like that, but he needed her to be a bit more receptive to his upcoming demands. Besides, it was easier to keep her from changing the subject when she was feeling that blessed guilt. "How are the hearings and trials going?"

"It's going pretty good actually. We're not taking any chances with this. Those people are all going down. Permanently. In fact, the last batch ended a few days ago."

"That's great. It's good to hear that all of our hard work is paying off." He knew all of this already, of course. There was no chance in hell that he'd let any of it pass by without his knowledge. The Black Organization had nearly ruined his life and _had_ ruined the lives of many others. Even if it was from afar, he'd bear witness to the rightfully doled out justice _those_ people deserved.

"So when's Haibara coming home? I'm sure she could use a break," Shinichi said sweetly as he got to the reason for his call. He hadn't seen her since that second night at the hospital, and barely even then. The painkillers had cut their time short, but she'd been _okay_. Well, certain degrees of okay, but she'd been in one piece and that had been what was most important at the time. Agasa hadn't faired as well, but he'd recovered quickly enough. And then she'd been whisked away into protective custody, and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of her since. This did not sit well with him.

"Ah, well... I'm not sure. There's just been so much to do... but don't worry! You'll be the first to know when she completes the antidote."

This was almost too easy. She was already starting to sound a little desperate for a change of subject. Too bad he wasn't going to give her one. "That's all well and good, Jodie-san, but I really don't care about that right now. She _is_ my friend and this _is_ her home. I'm sure she's missing it by now." It was the truth. Sort of. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to be cured of his little problem as soon as humanly possible; but that was pretty much the norm, and wanting hadn't changed anything. Haibara _was_ his friend - as much as she could be friends with anyone, he supposed. And Agasa's house, in its repaired state, was probably the only place she'd ever really identified as a home. He didn't want to see that taken away from her.

"Of course! But she really is one of the most valuable witnesses we have. It's a bit of a difficult situation, you understand?"

And there was the crux of the problem. As a former member of the Black Organization they'd give Haibara just about anything to get relevant information out of her; but at the same time they didn't want to let her out of their sight either. Miyano Shiho. Sherry. The genius behind APTX 4869, a rare poison that could - on the rare chance - turn teenagers into children. The chance that it could be turned into a veritable fountain of youth was a bit too much temptation for certain people to pass up. That was a problem. He knew it. And Jodie knew it. But that didn't mean he couldn't win if he played his cards right. Haibara was never going to let them know the formula for APTX 4869 and it was high time they started to realize that.

"I don't really want things to get unpleasant, Jodie-san," Shinichi said carefully as he leaned back in the chair and studied the ceiling with a calculating stare, "But I'd appreciate your cooperation in letting the _right_ people know that I am deeply unhappy about the state of affairs in regards to Haibara Ai's location and would really like for her to be returned home as soon as possible. Do you think you could do that for me?"

"Cool Kid... I'm not sure-"

"You understand, Jodie." Shinichi smiled humorlessly as he dug the claws in. She'd suffered enough losses to get the message loud and clear. "I _know_ you do. See what you can do, all right? I'd hate to have to personally get involved in the matter." He didn't particularly care for being a manipulative bastard, but if the situation warranted it then he would do what he had to.

"I..." There was a very heavy sigh over the line, which told him that his point had hit home. It didn't make him happy to hear it, but it was what it was. He'd just have to apologize sometime later for putting her in this sort of position. "Yeah, I know. I'll see what I can do, Cool Kid. Try not to do anything reckless in the meantime, okay?"

"I'll be fine. I have too many people watching out for me now for it to be otherwise," he stated blandly. Didn't he know it. It had been easier to get used to the Tokyo police shadowing him every now and then than it had to get over the shock of Sonoko showing up to take him out somewhere every other day. That was just bizarre. At least Hattori popping up at random was typical behavior on his part. His "houseguests" on the other hand... Well, they were... something. Yes, _something_. He wasn't quite sure what, but it was something.

Speaking of which. Paying only half a mind as he said his goodbyes to Jodie before hanging up, Shinichi narrowed his eyes at the unusual silence. Dinner would be ready soon, so one of them had to at least be doing something strange by now. They _always_ did. Frowning, he cautiously peeked out into the hallway and was thoroughly unnerved at nothing being there. It was quiet and empty and so very, very wrong. Oh god, what were they planning now?

Sighing to himself as he realized that he might as well just get it over with, Shinichi slowly trudged towards the kitchen. He'd tried fleeing early on in their, ah, presence in his household. He hadn't gotten far. That lunatic just _knew_ and never let him escape. Not ever. Bastard. Another peek into the kitchen showed them both to be present. She was still cooking their dinner and _he_ was munching on something or other. It looked perfectly normal and sent a shiver of unease up his spine. These two didn't even know the definition of normal.

"How'd your phone call go, Shin-chan?" Chikage chirped cheerfully as she stirred something on the stove. He couldn't see what it was, but it smelled delicious. She was an awesome cook. Now if she'd just stop _calling_ him that. Not that she ever would, the woman was as bad as his mother.

"Well enough," Shinichi answered carefully as he stepped into the room. _He_ hadn't made a move yet, but that didn't mean anything. There would be glitter or confetti or something equally absurd soon enough. It never failed. But now that he thought about it, there might be a nice distraction to be made here. Eyeing the other speculatively for a moment, Shinichi smirked dangerously. "By the way, how good are you at stealing little girls?"

Kaito blinked, then grinned just as dangerously as his meaning fell into place. "I don't know, it depends on whether you want me to steal her heart as well."

Shinichi snorted at that, then laughed outright at the thought of Haibara's response to Kaitou Kid attempting to romance her. "You should try that." The fallout would be glorious.


	4. Before: Unease

**For Want of a Cure  
><strong>_**by Meimi**_

For Want of a Cure is a collection of snippets detailing the aftermath of the Black Organization's final strike along with the event itself. The snippets are deliberately written out of order to give a brief window into the overarching plot. They are puzzle pieces that will eventually come together to paint the entire picture.

Characters(s)/Pairing(s): Canon for the most part. I am rather fond of random pairings though, so the chance of me writing AU omake every now and then is quite high.  
><span>Disclaimer<span>: I am in no way associated with Aoyama Gosho or anyone who hold rights to Detective Conan or Magic Kaito. It isn't mine, I'm just playing with it.

* * *

><p><strong>Before: Unease<strong>

The box was innocuous: a simple oversized brown cardboard container meant for shipping; and yet the sight of it sitting in the living room sent an edge of disquiet curling around her spine. She couldn't recall Agasa mentioning anything about a delivery, but it had to be something of his. She didn't have anything on order, and they all knew better than to surprise her with something. It had to be Agasa's. So why did she feel so uneasy about it? They both got packages on a fairly frequent basis. Their household consisted of two active scientists, after all, boxes arriving on the doorstep was the norm. Of course, this wasn't exactly the doorstep, but all in all it boiled down to the same thing. Agasa had probably brought it in earlier before heading out to the grocery. An obvious explanation for its presence, and yet she still felt off balance. Was it merely her paranoia getting the better of her or was something genuinely wrong here?

"It's too bad Conan-kun couldn't come with us." Her face blank and void of any hint of her internal distress, Ai shifted her gaze over to a rather disgruntled looking Ayumi. "I know it was just a school match, but it was a really good soccer game."

Ai hummed in agreement then shrugged, her attention slowly wandering back to that suspicious box. "It can't be helped. Ran insisted that she needed him to go with her. Something about clothes shopping, if I remember correctly." She took no notice of the odd looks she was receiving from the other three at her matter of fact statement. A part of her was hissing at her in alarm, telling her to not be so careless. Mouri Ran was Ran-neechan to their little group, not simply _Ran_. That would never change. But that box... Her instincts were quite sharp, they rarely led her wrong. But there were times when she was incorrect in her initial assumptions, as Kudo had inadvertently shown her several times in the past. But this... this feeling wasn't good. There was something very wrong with that box being here. Agasa... if only he hadn't sent them on ahead. It would look strange if she opened it now in front of the others - though she was more inclined to drop it off in a ditch somewhere rather than find out what _surprises_ lurked within.

"Man, I'm starving!" Genta's typical complaint sliced through the air of apprehension that had descended upon them, resulting in a roll of eyes from Mitsuhiko and a short laugh from Ayumi. For her own part, Ai merely blinked absently at the expected outburst; it was the unexpected that held the majority of her attention. Everything looked correct: the slip, the sticker, the barcodes, even the return address was from a company she vaguely remembered him ordering from before. It could've easily been any other box they'd received in the past, but it wasn't. It _wasn't_.

"When do you think the Professor will be back, Haibara-chan?"

Mitsuhiko sounded worried. _Damn it_. She wasn't acting right. Granted, she never really acted right for their age group - she wasn't _that_ good of an actor; but right now her behavior was a little strange even for her. She knew that. She should... she should do something to allay their concerns. It was easy enough to do, all that was required was for her to look away from _that box_ and come up with a familiar subject to chat about. So why couldn't she? Suddenly, she wished fervently that Kudo _had_ gone with them. He was much better at smoothing over the concerns of others - much more adept at getting the focus of attention taken off both of them. He had to be. He was usually the idiot that landed them in unsavory predicaments, after all. Though, regardless of his ever present recklessness at pursuing the truth, at least he took responsibility for his own screw ups. But he wasn't here now, she was going to have to deal with this problem on her own. "He just went to the grocery. I'm sure he'll be here shortly."

Ai didn't even bother hunting for the letter opener - it always got misplaced. Instead, she went straight to the kitchen and fished a knife out of the cutlery drawer. One sharp edge was as good as any other for the simple task of ripping through tape. The others goggled at her in unabashed confusion as she stalked back towards the box.

"Ai-chan, what in the world are you doing?" Ayumi sounded distressed, but she couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment.

"Finding out what is in this thing," Ai answered candidly as she slid the blade under a flap and tore through the tape on one side.

"But isn't that the Professor's-" Any further comments were cut off by the sound of the front door rattling as it was unlocked and pushed open. "Ah, the Professor's back!"

Abruptly abandoning her immediate prey, Ai swept through the room and out into the hallway. "Agasa! Were you expecting any packages?" She demanded, ignoring the shocked stares she was acquiring at a rapid pace. She was going to have to work overtime at repairing their image of her after this, but that didn't matter right now. That _box_ had to be dealt with first.

Agasa blinked down at her in confusion for several seconds - too long in her opinion. "Why no, Ai-chan, I don't believe so. What's the matter-"

"There's a box in the living room," she stated flatly. "You didn't put it there, did you?"

"Of course not, I haven't been back to the house since we left this morning. What's going-"

This time the interruption didn't come from her. Instead, it was the distant sound of a blast that had them all freezing in place. _That couldn't possibly have been..._ Ai did not let herself finish that thought as she darted around Agasa and out the door, her eyes scanning the horizon as soon as she was outside. She knew it well though. _A detonation_. A bomb had gone off nearby. _Too close_. The black smoke that began to billow up into the sky a moment later confirmed her suspicion. The direction it was coming from, however, had her reaching blindly for her cellphone in unmitigated fear. _That was-_

"What could've happened?"

"Isn't the Detective Agency over that way?"

"Oh my goodness! I hope Conan-kun is okay!"

"We should get over there!"

She ignored them all as she dialed his number - her hands trembling as another blast echoed out across the neighborhood from another direction. A dark memory took hold of her as she silently counted the rings. _One_. Staggered, not at the same time. _Two_. Keep them guessing until it was too late. _Three_. Erase _everything_. It couldn't be... She almost snarled as it switched over to his voicemail. _Damn you, Kudo! Answer the phone!_ She dialed again. What else could she do? It was Them. She knew it. And she needed him if they were to have any chance of living through it. This time it only reached the second ring before he picked up. _Thank god_. "Kudo-"

"Haibara, get out of there." He sounded breathless, but not pained. That... that was good. "There are bombs. I need you to get to safety. Don't worry about anything else, okay?"

"What are you going to do?" She really didn't need to ask, she - always - knew the answer when it came to him. Kudo Shinichi would never back down from Them, even when - or especially when - it was in his own best interest to flee. _Idiotic fool_.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just get to somewhere safe."

"All right, I'll see you later." The click barely registered in her mind as he cut the call. He was going to do something tremendously stupid again - and get hurt _again_. And whether They knew the truth of it or not, it seemed They'd decided to stop dancing around the issue and just take all of their little stumbling blocks out in one fell swoop. _Salt the Earth_. She knew the procedure for that particular operation; though she'd never heard of it actually being implemented before. Destroy everything. Leave nothing to chance. No evidence. No witnesses. Nothing. Blame it all on some convenient terrorist cell and move on. Everyone was a target. _Everyone_. "Agasa," she heard herself saying as she turned back towards the house, "take the others and go. Try to get them as far away from here as possible."

"Ai-chan-"

"What are you-"

"Go! And don't look back." She darted back into the house, slamming and locking the door behind her. Agasa would understand. He would know what to do. For now, she had something else to take care of.

That box. It was a bomb, but she had a niggling suspicion that it wasn't really armed. No, if They suspected anything - anything at all, then They'd want to deal with her Themselves. Traitors required a personal touch, after all. But even still, it was a bomb. In her _house_. Kudo had told her - had ordered her, really - to run. But this was her home now. First she'd deal with Their little package, and then she'd deal with the Crow that came to collect her blood. Later, he'd rant at her for being reckless - and she'd point out it was something he did _all the time_. But this life she had cultivated... she had things that were precious to her now, she couldn't just abandon them - didn't want to.

Funny, she was actually looking forward to getting yelled at.


	5. After: Changing of the Guard

**For Want of a Cure  
><strong>_**by Meimi**_

For Want of a Cure is a collection of snippets detailing the aftermath of the Black Organization's final strike along with the event itself. The snippets are deliberately written out of order to give a brief window into the overarching plot. They are puzzle pieces that will eventually come together to paint the entire picture.

Characters(s)/Pairing(s): Canon for the most part. I am rather fond of random pairings though, so the chance of me writing AU omake every now and then is quite high.  
><span>Disclaimer<span>: I am in no way associated with Aoyama Gosho or anyone who hold rights to Detective Conan or Magic Kaito. It isn't mine, I'm just playing with it.

* * *

><p><strong>After: Changing of the Guard<strong>

Shinichi awoke to the unsettling sense of someone else being in the house with him. The overwhelming paranoia he'd lived under the past few years wasn't sending spikes of panic up his spine, however, so it had to be someone he was familiar with. It was far too early for Sato-san's daily visit with the doctor in tow; and Shiratori-san had been the one for that morning's breakfast caretaker routine - for some reason Inspector Megure's entire department had unanimously decided that if one of them wasn't present in the morning, then he wouldn't get up and eat a proper breakfast. It was a bit weird, to say the least. No doubt, Megure was probably partially to blame for it. The man had been familiar enough with him before the whole shrinking crap to remember stupid little facts like his typical morning meal of coffee, coffee and more coffee.

As for who exactly was responsible for one of them showing up on his doorstep every morning, _letting themselves in_, rousing him from sleep so they could feed him a breakfast that did not look or taste _cheap_ in the slightest, conspicuously _looming_ out of sight as he took care of hygiene issues, and then finally making sure that he was comfortably ensconced in the living room before they headed off for work, well, there were a few possibilities. It could be Megure himself. The absolutely horrified expression the man had worn when he'd finally found out just who exactly Edogawa Conan was and _why_ he was that way had shifted their positions in each other's world somewhat. He wasn't really sure _what_ their relationship was anymore. Before everything, the man had very definitely been one of his bigger fans - and he'd drunk up the Inspector's admiration like it'd been going out of style. Ah, the arrogance of youth... and supreme hypocrisy all rolled into one. He was still stuck in the body of a grade schooler, after all. It didn't get much younger than that. Their few meetings since then had been hesitant and borderline awkward. It was definitely odd seeing the Inspector being so painfully quiet and careful in his presence, almost as if the man thought he would break at a moment's notice. He'd have to do something to fix that perception... when it stopped feeling like he'd had the entire city of Tokyo dropped on him. Still, the daily delivery of a "healthy" breakfast didn't really fit with Megure's salary, so it probably wasn't him. Or, at the very least, the Inspector wasn't the one paying for it.

His parents could be behind it, but it really wasn't crazy enough to be one of their schemes. It could be the Americans. The FBI and the CIA had both been dropping rather heavy hints of late at "possible" career options for him. But he couldn't really see the Tokyo Police going along with this highly suspect plan of action if it really were the Americans trying to get further on his good side. Japanese law enforcement were a rather possessive lot and somewhere along the lines he had definitively become _theirs_. It couldn't really be one of his clients (neither Kudo's or "Mouri's"), his identity wasn't exactly public knowledge, though that would probably change soon. One of them would have to suffer under the spotlight once the final remnants of the Black Org got mopped up, and he was the best choice. He didn't have as much to lose or as much to hide. He was very much _not_ looking forward to it.

The last choice, of course, was the entire Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department - and probably every other Japanese branch that knew "Edogawa". He wouldn't put it past them to all chip in in their overbearing need to _hover_. They were all sweetness and light and horrible evil eyes with dripping sarcasm whenever the rest of the involved and very international law enforcement organizations deigned to impinge upon their territory - and he was definitely their territory now, whether he liked it or not. He would never escape them. Never. Ugh.

Any further thoughts in the direction of his doom were interrupted by a messy head of hair peaking around the now open door followed by a far too chipper, "Ah, so this is where you are."

Oh god. _Him_. He should've panicked after all, instincts be damned. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in a safe house?"

The other grinned at him as he sauntered into the room. _So creepy_. "Yes, I suppose I _should_ be there, but being cooped up somewhere didn't really fit in with my plans for today, so I left."

Shinichi did _not_ growl (though he felt like it) as he shot back, "It's called a safe house for a reason, you moron. You have far too many enemies still roaming around who would be ecstatic to see your head mounted on their wall. The agents assigned to guarding you are there to make sure that head stays exactly where it is supposed to be. This vanishing act of yours has probably given the entire lot of them heart attacks."

"I'm well aware of what safe houses are for, Tantei-kun. I have several myself." KID's, or rather, Kuroba Kaito's grin widened further as he leaned over the shrunken detective. "But all that aside, I'm much better at keeping myself in one piece than those busybodies. And I did leave a note, so there's absolutely no reason for hysterics on their part."

Shinichi rolled his eyes and scowled. "Ah yes, those vaunted survival skills worked ever so well with your house. I hear."

He managed to get a light frown out of the idiot thanks to that comment before it returned to his more cheerful facade. "Couldn't be helped. It was my _home_, you know. Even if I'd abandoned it - and I sure didn't want to - it wouldn't have changed anything."

"So you say."

"I do~" Kaito hummed teasingly as he reached down, tilted Shinichi's chin up, earning him a startled look, and eyed the bandages peeking out from under the detective's shirt collar. "You're looking better," he laughed as Shinichi batted his hand away, "and seem to be much livelier than you were."

"Considering that I was bleeding all over you and barely managing to stay conscious the last time you saw me, that's not really saying much," Shinichi stated blandly.

"Well, I was concerned," Kaito huffed in mock exasperation. "It would've been my fault if you were having any setbacks, you know."

"Don't be ridiculous. You were just doing what I told you to."

"That's true," Kaito reached down again, poking experimentally at the blank cast encasing the detective's left wrist, "but it's not like I've ever been very good at listening."

"She would've gotten away if you hadn't, and we'd be right back at square one," Shinichi explained, a heavy note of _"This is obvious, you moron."_ in his voice as he swiped at the offending hand _touching_ him. Did the idiot really have no sense of personal space? And here he thought he'd been bad as KID.

"Ah, I'll have to take your word for it." Kaito shrugged as he stepped back just outside of his reach.

Shinichi scowled, but didn't comment on the thief's annoying penchant for taking liberties with other people's persons. That would just be inviting him to poke more. "I see you're not limping anymore," he pointed out, hoping that it would serve as a welcome change of subject.

"It's amazing what a brace and an enormous amount of stitches can do for shrapnel," Kaito said breezily as he stretched all the way to his tippy toes then flopped down bonelessly into the chair closest to Shinichi.

Eyeing his "guest" with mounting suspicion at the blindingly apparent "I'm totally harmless and not about to drop something on your lap that's going to ruin your day" act, Shinichi finally asked, "What do you want, Kuroba?"

"Kaito."

Shinichi blinked in surprise. "Eh?"

"It's my name, you know," the thief said sweetly as he lazily wove a finger through the air, little puffs of colored smoke trailing in its wake. "So you should call me Kaito, Shin~ichi~. We are friends, after all."

"Since when?"

Completely ignoring the detective's irritated question about their supposed friendship, Kaito started writing English letters out in the air with lavender, light green, pink and yellow puffs. "It's a small world, don't you think?"

Shinichi twitched as the smoke formed into "It's a World of Laughter". Dear god, the lunatic was quoting Disney. "I'm really not going to like where you're going with this, am I?"

"Apparently," Kaito chirped as he embellished the H on "It's a World of Hope", "Your mother has known my mother for quite some time."

Shinichi blinked and then froze as his brain tried to forcefully separate itself from the many, _many_ possible implications such a statement could herald. Oh no. No no no. _Damnit_. If his mother was involved, and she would be or Kuroba- er, ugh, _Kaito_ wouldn't have brought her up. No doubt, the woman had cooked up some cracked up plan or another that he would have to suffer through. Again. Mentally sighing in defeat (he honestly didn't have the energy it would require to freak out properly over his mother's upcoming insanity), Shinichi muttered sourly, "Somehow I am not surprised in the slightest at this particular nugget of knowledge."

"Oh?" The thief looked at him curiously as he finished up "It's a Small World After All".

"Birds of a feather flock together," Shinichi chuckled humorlessly, the accompanying smile nothing short of pained. "I'm not sure if you got the memo or not," he elaborated further at Kaito's confused expression, "but my parents are certifiably insane."

Kaito blinked, then narrowed his eyes at the unspoken link between flocking together and insane parents. "Are you saying my mother's crazy?"

Shinichi merely gave him a deadpan look in return. "She raised you, didn't she?"

His dry, sarcastic touch of humor was rewarded with a delighted laugh. "Touche."

In spite of himself, Shinichi couldn't help but smile at the thief's mirth. KID had always been extremely charismatic - the screaming fans were impossible to miss (as was his own inability to hate the lunatic - not that he'd ever admit to that), and that charisma evidently translated directly from the real person behind the monocle, as it were. Friends, huh? Well, he had no doubt that Kuroba- ah, Kaito would be an _interesting_ person to get to know; and he wasn't fool enough to think he'd be able to escape whatever doom was approaching along those lines. KID had been next to impossible to deter once he'd set his mind on something, and his mother was horrifyingly relentless where her schemes were concerned. Between the two of them, he didn't have a chance in hell. Maybe if he were in better health he wouldn't be so resigned to what he knew would be yet another bomb landing on his life, but well, there you go. Maybe being "friends" wouldn't be so bad. Right?

"Anyway," Kaito piped out once he'd gotten his amusement under control, "It's funny that you mentioned the safe house, as that is really the crux of the problem. I don't like it there and mom _really_ doesn't like it there."

Shinichi arched an eyebrow as Kaito's grin turned absolutely sheepish. Oh, that didn't sound good. That didn't sound good at all. "Go on."

"Today's disappearing act isn't the first one I've pulled on them, not by a long shot," Kaito explained as he leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head and decidedly did not look in the detective's direction. "But really, anything I do to them pales in comparison to what mom's been doing to those poor people. She is literally driving them insane and seriously making me look like a rank amateur. And while we appreciate the fact that they didn't immediately toss us into maximum security prison and throw away the key - not that we would've been there long - this entire venture just isn't working out for us. At all."

"I see." Shinichi could easily imagine the lunacy that would arise from keeping just one phantom thief cooped up. Adding Kuroba Chikage - a woman insane enough to marry the first Kaitou KID _and_ raise the second (and who was probably a phantom thief in her own right if his father's conjectures were correct) - into the mix... well, he didn't even _want_ to think about it. It was much safer for his sanity's continued existence if he left that train of thought completely untouched. "I'm going to regret this - _I know it_ - but what does any of that have to do with your presence here today?"

"I'm so glad you asked," Kaito practically purred, a far too familiar grin of imminent disaster stretching across his face. The detective couldn't resist a tiny shiver of unease as nearly every hair on his body stood on end. Nothing good ever came of that grin. _Nothing_. "As I was saying, apparently your mother knows my mother and they've been chatting on the phone quite a lot in between the escalating moments of terror we keep visiting upon our poor guards. And somewhere in between the ranting and the screaming they came up with this _brilliant_ idea."

Reaching up to rub his temple against the headache he knew was about to explode in his head any second now, Shinichi groaned inaudibly. He could already see where this was going.

"Since we don't really have a house in Japan to go back to - and we don't really want to let the more law abiding people know where our emergency boltholes are - and since you're here all alone, they figured it would just be best for everyone involved if we just moved in with you." Kaito's grin turned into something a bit more unsure as he plowed on, "Yukiko-san doesn't think they'll be able to come back anytime soon thanks to the whole snafu with the FBI and CIA, and you really kind of need somebody present for more than a few hours a day to watch out for you while you heal up. No offense, but you really do still look like crap and you _did_ almost die there. And it would work out just perfect since you already have people watching your house so there wouldn't really need to be too many more additions made."

With the explanation for his visit delivered in full (and no murderous outbursts to speak of yet), Kaito smiled hopefully and asked, "So what do you think?"

Shinichi just stared at the thief for several very long, very charged moments before he managed to find his voice. "Why are you even asking for my opinion?" His parents never really cared much for his input on their schemes. They usually just went ahead with whatever the hell they'd decided on and he was left to pick up the pieces of their insanity. Somehow he didn't think it would be _any_ different with the Kurobos. The lunatic's mother probably already had them all packed up and ready to move in at a moment's notice. God help him.

"Well," Kaito grimaced a little and scratched at his cheek almost self-consciously, "It's more your house than theirs, and I thought it would be best to ask you about it first before invading your household with our sparkling presence. I know you, uh, haven't had much choice in stuff like that for awhile now."

Shinichi blinked in surprise. That was... surprisingly thoughtful of him. Hmm. Did he really want two total strangers living in the house with him? Granted, he did sort of know KID. And while the thief had been an infuriating prankster of the highest order, he'd never really managed to get himself labeled as a _bad guy_ in Shinichi's mind. Of course, Kaito wasn't exactly harmless, but Shinichi also wouldn't have to constantly watch his back with the thief either. Maybe it would turn out okay. "It's fine," he said finally, closing his eyes as he sagged back into his seat, "I don't really mind." And maybe it would be nice to not be so alone anymore. The only people he saw with any consistency these days were the police, and while he appreciated their concern, he missed his friends.

It was Ran he missed most of all. That was kind of a given. She hadn't been to see him yet. He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he wouldn't push his luck by forcing the issue. If she needed time then he'd give her however much she wanted. He missed the Detective Boys too. He hadn't seen any of them since that day, and he fervently hoped it was just because their parents didn't want them bothering him while he was out of commission. If they hated him for lying to them (assuming they'd even been told yet)... well, he wasn't sure what he'd do. Those kids... it was funny really, but somewhere along the lines they'd become a fixture in his life that he just didn't want to let go of. Hattori too, but Shinichi doubted he'd see his friend anytime soon. The Detective of the West was still suffering under the wrath - and concern - of Kazuha and his parents. If he managed to step anywhere outside of Osaka in the next few months it would be a miracle in and of itself. Agasa and Haibara were off somewhere in protective custody - most likely America. No doubt, it would be many, many months before he heard anything from that pair. Haibara was too important a witness and Agasa wouldn't leave her there alone to fend for herself. That just left Kogoro, and while he was honest enough with himself now to admit that he did sort of miss that twit, the chances of them ever being on speaking terms again were rather slim. Circumstances and his overriding arrogance of what _had to be done_ had led to him taking far too much advantage of the man. He'd probably never be forgiven. And he wasn't sure he deserved it anyway.

"Hey."

Feeling nimble fingers carding through his bangs, Shinichi opened his eyes wearily and looked up at the thief leaning over him again. "What is it?"

"Don't dwell on it so much," Kaito said softly as he gently ran his fingers down and behind the little detective's ear, a yellow rose appearing in his hand as he drew back. "Things change. That's just how life is. But you'll get it all back eventually, in one form or another. Besides, time is a luxury we actually have now. We should take advantage of it."

"I suppose," Shinichi sighed heavily, accepting the rose that was offered. "I can't really do much else right now."

"It would be best to heal up first before you start to try and pick up the pieces. They won't go anywhere in the meantime, and even if they do," Kaito smiled winsomely as he stepped back and bowed with a flourish, "you now have at your disposal a tried and true expert at finding things. I'm sure you'll soon discover that nothing escapes my notice."

"I'll take your word for it," Shinichi said impassively. He did feel better though, if just a bit. Maybe having Kaito and his mother around wouldn't be so bad.

"As you should."

Or maybe not. That grin was... very unsettling. Just what exactly had he gotten himself into?

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> I'd intended to get this out much sooner, but unfortunately I had a mild relapse the first week of the year and ended up not doing much at all. Oh well. The writing is starting to get a little easier now, though it does still feel a bit awkward. I don't quite feel comfortable enough to go back to Perdition just yet. My apologies to those who are still waiting on it. Here's hoping it gets better sooner rather than later.


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